Find That Gift For Him

I have written about the Friendship stone before. It’s a lovely idea. I have another blog about mens gifts and I’ve written about the Friendship Stone.

It’s one of the more unusual gift ideas around and I like it as a gift that is quite unusual, for either a man or a woman.

Well the people at the Friendship Stone have told me that they have offered their unique product at a special price for Fathers Day. 15% off.

That’s not bad so if you want to have a look at the Friendship Stone do so here.

Why not get dad something very ususual for Fathers Day?

I like saunas, sometimes. They are relaxing, it makes you slow down. Only problem is that regular saunas can be a little too hot for my liking.

Sometimes it's fine. If the temperature is a little lower than normal and noone has poured any water on the hot rocks then it isn't so hot and steamy.

Yes I know, a sauna is supposed to be hot and steamy isn't it? Well yes, but there are limits. Beyond a certain time I start to gasp. My wife, on the other hand,  loves it as hot as it can get.

Maybe it's a boy/girl thing. I know that in many cases men seem to feel the heat much more than women. In summer on a hot day I'm dying while my wife is out there sitting in the sun. Maybe men feel the heat much more than women. I don't know, but I do know she revels in the sauna while I gasp most of the time.

And if you love a nice sauna but your man is a little like me and finds it too hot then there is an alternative. I've recently come across infrared saunas. A whatred sauna I hear you ask? An infrared sauna.

An infrared sauna is one which is heated by a different method than regular saunas. Regular saunas, or what is known as a Finnish or hot rock sauna, is one which works by means of heating the air, which is why I gasp.

An infra red sauna on the other hand, works by heating you the suana user, but not the air. How? By the use of infrared rays. You know infrared rays, that's what heats you every time the sun comes out from behind the clouds. And as it heats by infrared rays it doesn't make you gasp. It heats you, but not the air.

Infrared saunas can sometimes be known as FIR saunas. The FIR stands for far infra red, which is the wavelength of sunlight where the infared light it.

It seems that a good sauna has some health benefits. It's said that it makes it easier to lose weight, does all sorts of good things for your skin and cardio vascular system and lots lots more. Who knows, but a sauna is still a lovely time.

So if you love the sauna and you'd love your man to join you, but it leaves him gasping, treat him to an infrared sauna. He won't gasp and you may well find that he loves saunas as much as you do once he isn't feeling the heat so much.

It's a wonderful idea for the holidays. You're both relaxed, feeling good and have the time, treat him to a sauna, and if he feels the heat see how he goes with an infrared sauna.

Have a look at http://infraredsaunasguide.com/  to find out more.

Looking for a gift for a man who loves his computer but has nowhere to put it? How about giving him a computer armoire?

It seems that everyone has a computer nowadays. And computer armoires are becoming very popular. But aren't they just the most useless piece of furniture that you could buy?

A computer is just about mandatory in modern times. If you're not on the net then you need to be, and it's a lonely house indeed that is without a computer.

And not just a computer. With it comes a whole lot of paraphernalia. Screens, printers, boxes, faxes, cables everywhere and so on.

Where to put it all?

Well of course you could just put it all on a computer desk, after all, that's what they're designed for. They aren't all that expensive. They house all your hardware quite comfortably, and although it mightn't look quite so good, it all goes in the study doesn't it?

Problem. What if you don't have a study? Or any room dedicated to equipment like computers. Modern living, and in particular high real estate prices mean that for many people a study is a luxury they can't afford. A home office is a room that just doesn't exist in most houses or apartments.

Enter the computer armoire. Computer armoires are a specifically designed piece of home furniture. They are designed with one purpose in mind, to house a computer and all it's paraphernalia in a way that disguises it completely from others who enter the room. And a good computer armoire, sometimes known as a computer cabinet, does it all whilst looking like a fine piece of high quality furniture that adds value to the room rather than looking out of place.

Good computer cabinets come in a range of sizes and shapes. From corner armoires to wall armoires, wide to narrow, a computer armoire houses your computer in a way that allows you to use it easily and comfortably at any time, but to cover it up at other times so that it appears there isn't a computer in the room at all.

A well designed cabinet has a place for every piece of computer equipment. Drawes, shelves, tiny spaces and pull out keyboard drawers, there's a place for everything. Height adjustable for all users, space for filing, space for all the cables and holes at the rear to allow them all to reach the power source, it's all designed into a fine computer armoire like a Broyhill or Sauder computer armoire.

And it can all be retracted and covered up at the fold of a door or 2. Opening doors should fold back against the sides for best use of space, and then shut to cover it all up.

And a good computer cabinet is a fine looking piece of furniture. Timber or timber veneer in such fine furniture timbers as cherry or walnut, they are designed to look as good in, say, your loungeroom or bedroom as any other furniture that you may have there.

Perhaps you've got some space in the corner for your armoire, buy a corner computer armoire for that space. Or perhaps a short amount of wall space is available. Buy a narrow wall armoire. They are versatile and good looking.

If you don't have a dedicated office or study at home a fine computer cabinet is almost a necessity. You can't just buy any old computer desk and put it right there in the lounge. It looks terrible and takes up way too much space.

So if you're wanting to put a computer in your home but don't have a study to put it in, then consider putting it right in the lounge or bedroom, and housing it in a fine quality good looking computer armoire. No one will ever know it's there when the doors are closed, and you'll be able to work to your hearts content when the doors are open.

A computer armoire is perhaps the most useful piece of furniture you could buy for your home. And it makes a fine gift for a man who loves his computer and needs somewhere to put it.

Christmas is coming and you're all out of ideas for a great Christmas gift for him. He's your favorite man and you've just GOT to find him a hot Christmas gift.

It's not easy is it, coming up with good Christmas gift ideas every year? Or birthday gifts, or any other gifts. It's not easy indeed.

But it's not impossible at all. You just need to put in a little extra effort from normal, and you've got it nailed. It does take some more effort than you might be used to.

But what exactly do you do to come up with cool Christmas gift ideas? Where do you direct the effort?

Here's 3 tips for finding great Christmas gift ideas for men. Put them to work and you'll be surprised at how well they work, and you'll be coming up with all sorts of great ideas for his presents, Christmas or otherwise.

1. Start early.

It sounds obvious doesn't it, but almost everyone starts their gifts search too late. That doesn't mean that you need to be out there buying a Christmas gift for him in June, although there's nothing wrongwith that, it's the way to get some great bargains buying out of season.

No I mean start looking for ideas early. To me the best time to start looking for good Christmas gift ideas is Christmas day. Look for good ideas for next Christmas.

Listen to him when he opens his gifts and watches others open theirs. What turns him on, either about his gifts or those received by others? You can tell if you listen and watch his body language. File it away under "christmas gift ideas for him" or better still write it down.

2. Listen to him.

Through the year, listen to what he says with a "gifts" viewpoint. What does he like, what does't he. If he's in a store what catches his eye, what does he immediately go and look at?

What turns him on?

Listen to him and watch, and you'll slowly find out more and more about what turns him on, and there are your gift ideas.

3. Look for gift ideas that he would never buy for himself.

If there's something that you've identified that turns him on find something that he'd love but he'd NEVER BUY FOR HIMSELF.

A great gift is one that he'd love to have but wouldn't buy. Perhaps it's a bit of an extravagance that he wouldn't take. Perhaps it's something he'd consider a bit superfluous. Perhaps it's something he'd look at a lot but not quite get around to as there is always something more important.

There you have it. Start looking for next Christmas THIS Christmas, listen to him and watch, and try to find a gift idea that he'd love but would never normally buy for himself.

Do those 3 things and you've got the makings of a great Christmas gift for him.

Easy? No, but I said it took some extra effort. Maybe not easy, but successful, and it will be worth it when he finds you've bought him a better Christmas gift than you ever have before.

And don't forget, you need to read my website too for lots of Christmas gift ideas.

Photos can be one of the best gifts to give because a photo is a gift of memories. A great gift is one which he will come back to over and over, and a gift of memories is a gift like that.

If you're looking for a great gift for him for Christmas then a gift of memories is hard to pass by. Use your own photos to create a fantastic gift that he'll love, and there you have a great Christmas present.

How do you create a gift of memories using your own photos? Well of course you could just buy a stick in photo album, print your photos and stick them in. But that's not exactly the best way to produce a Christmas gift he'll love.

There are much better and more high tech ways to do it, which produce better results. My favorite is Shutterfly, which is considered to be the premier photo and image sharing site on the web. At Shutterfly you can do all sorts of things with your photos.

There is an entire range of photo improvement tools available to you to make your photos look great. Then there are all sorts of other tools to produce great looking gifts for anyone you want, using your photos.

For instance you might want to create a whole batch of Christmas gifts for your extended family. Why not personalized Christmas photo cards for instance? Or personalised photo albums or photo books?

Create colors, borders, captions or titles for your photos. Make the photo album totally personal to the person who is to receive it by putting in all sorts of personal notes and ideas.

It's a lovely way for instance to create a Christmas album for dad. Fill it with thoughts from his kids and family to go with the photos.

It's a great Christmas gift. Find out how to do it at Shutterfly, and at the moment they have a special on as well, so you get 15 free prints just for joining, which is free.

Charity gift giving is nothing new, it's been around for years. Several times my family has bought Christmas presents of geese or chickens or cows for poor families in Africa over the last couple of years.

But just because charity gift giving isn't new doesn't mean it isn't a great idea. It is.

We are some of the luckiest people on the planet. We have a lifestyle that is the envy of almost everyone else. Even those of us that aren't quite as affluent as the rest are far better off than almost everyone else who lives on this earth. We are comfortable and life is easy compared to some, and sometimes we forget this.

So gift giving that helps the less fortunate amongst us is a wonderful idea.

Oxfam has just released it's new "Oxfam Unwrapped" program. It's designed for people like us to help those that aren't as fortunate. We purchase gifts that benefit the poorer people of the world. We then give that "gift" to someone we love.

So for example I could buy a buffalo for a poor family in Africa, or a donkey. And then give a certificate or document reflecting that to someone I love, so they also are a part of that gift.

Take a gift of a donkey for just over $100. Here's what Oxfam says about it.

"Oxfam is helping to distribute donkeys to those affected by the conflict in Sudan. Abdell Rasol Ibrahim says of his donkey Mashi (which means ‘Goes Fast’): “She makes a big difference to my life. I’m a single parent, and I have five children to look after. I was very happy when I received the donkey, because I can go and collect enough firewood and grass to sell in the market. She’s a very good donkey. I’m very proud to have her.”

To give a gift like that is to really make a difference in someone's life. It may be one of the most important gifts you ever make.

So I urge you to seriously consider the Oxfam Unwrapped gifts for your man this Christmas. It may mean an awful lot more than you realise to someone else on this planet. It's a wonderful charity gift.
And don't forget to read my other suggestions for Christmas presents for men either.

I write all about mens gifts, and one of the most common questions I get asked through my website is "what gift do I buy for my man. He has plenty of money and buys what he wants, so he already has everything he wants".

This is of course pretty common. Lots of men just get out there and buy something if they want it, they don't drop hints near birthday time hoping that the hint will be picked up and acted on. Almost by definition, if he wants it he's already got it.

Not always of course, often it's a question of cost. There are men with a list of wants that they would like to fill, but just can't afford them. If your man is like that, and you can afford those gifts, then ask him and see what he'll say, he'll probably jump at the chance to tell you about those things he'd love the most but can't buy for himself.

But lets assume for a moment that your man can afford what he wants, and so you're a little stuck for ideas for unique and unusual birthday gifts or Christmas gifts that are going to get his juices going.

Here's 7 ideas for gifts for him. He may love all of them, he may love none of them, but I doubt it.

There'll be at least one gift for him there that he'll love. Some are extremely expensive and some aren't.

1. Sexy Lingerie. Now it isn't entirely a unique gift idea but it's one that is almost guaranteed to work. Men love lingerie. Worn by their women of course. I have seen lots of lists of favorite gifts for men and there is one common gift theme. Lingerie is always up there.

No matter how many pieces of beautiful lingerie a woman has, if she selects well and chooses the right piece I can just about guarantee her man will love it, provided of course she wears it for him.

It's almost a can't fail gift.

And there is wonderful lingerie available for women of any size, so girls it's no excuse to say that you're a little large. If your man loves you large he'll love you large and looking great in some sexy lingerie.

2. Adventure gifts. Most men love adventure and adrenalin. Not all, but most. And many women aren't aware that there are some excellent companies around that cater to this extremely well. It's possible to find all sorts of adventure gifts for men and women that you would never have thought existed.

And for all sorts of tastes. Would he love to do his first parachute jump? Try white water rafting?

Drive a tank or a supercar? Go zero-g just like the astranauts do in training? You can give him a gift of any of these things and thousands more, from the extreme adrenalin gift to the gentle and invigorating and pampering gift. The adventure gift companies cater for all tastes in outdoors and adventure and adrenalin, even to beautiful and luxurious days like wine tastings and spa days. There's something for everyone.

3. An eco holiday. There is a growing worldwide movement to charity and volunteer and ecological work and travel. Rather than just buy him a holiday in Europe, which is a little ho hum, why not buy him some volunteer travel with a difference. There are lots of companies which offer adventure travel with a twist, volunteer work that helps out those less fortunate than ourselves, both people and animals and the environment.

He may end up on a research vessel in the waters off Mexico counting turtles or in the wilds of Africa measuring the distribution of African animals. The destinations are almost always exotic. There is work to be done but it is so interesting and adventuruous and invigorating that he probably won't even see it as work. It's fun, it's exciting, it's adventurous and it gives back to the environment and to many less fortunate than ourselves helping committed scientists with their research.

It costs, it's not free, but it's an extremely unique and fabulous holiday that he's unlikely to better.

4 Chinese art. This is a favorite of mine because I lived in China for a while and just love Chinese art.

We have so many pieces that we don't have enough space to hang them all. From beatiful Chinese wall hangings to the absolutely fabuluous and quite unique teapots of Yixing, there are so many Chinese artworks that would go so well in so many of our Western homes.

And it's so cheap. For the man who loves his art, Chinese art is a gift of art with a difference.

5. Mens jewelry. Now this is a gift for a man who likes to wear jewelry obviously, and you need to establish this first. However for a man who does like his jewerly there are some extremely modern and stunning jewelry pieces available on the net now at very competitive prices. And they are made exclusively for men using some of the finest and most masculine of jewelry metals. Like Titanium. If you haven't checked out Titanium jewelry for men on the net lately and your man likes jewelry you should do so. It makes for a wonderful and sometimes extremely romantic gift for the right man.

6. An elephant painting. Another one for the man who likes his art. Painted by a real Asian elephant on paper which is made from elephant dung. Now before you wonder if I've gone mad check it out. The elephants really do the painting, I have a video of it on my website. And believe it or not they paint recognisable objects. The paintings look great, are extremely inexpensive, and would make a great artwork to hang near the table to stimulate some evening conversation with his friends.

And in Thailand, where a lot of the elephant paintings are done, they also make the most stunning paper from elephant dung. And yes, again I've got links on my website to sites where you can actually see how it's done, it's not a fraud. It's beautiful paper, and you can get his elephant painting done on elephant dung paper.

7. Buy him a whale. This is for the man who has absolutely everything and who won't like anything at all from number 1 to 6, then It is perfectly possible to do. He doesn't actually get a whale wrapped in paper to unwrap on his birthday. However there are organisations like the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin trust that track and identify individual whales and dolphins, and allow you to name his own whale or dolphin. There is a real whale or dolphin out there that is named for him.

The money helps in the protection of our whales and gives him a unique and memorable gift.

So there you have it, 7 suggestions for great gifts for the man who has everything. Ranging in price from $50 or so, to seriously expensive.

Now you don't have any excuses to say "I have no idea what to buy him for his birthday" any more.

Does your man love beer? Just about every man does, including me. And there are some very good beers around.

I have a brewery near me. It is one of those small boutique breweries that brews small quantities of high quality beers. The types that win awards, they've won quite a few. It was my brothers birthday a while ago and I bought him a beer gift box from them, with a selection of their products for him to try. He loved it.

There are some lovely birthday beer gift baskets and boxes around and I love them, it's a really nice way to give him a birthday gift. You can get even get chocolate and beer gift baskets, and that sounds like something I'd love.

If you want to give a beer love a beer gift for his birthday I don't think it's enough to just buy him a bottle or 3 of his regular beer and give that to your man for his birthday, you've got to do better than that if you want to give him a beer gift that's really special. Like the beer gift box I bought.

But I've now found an even better way to do it.

A beer of the month club.

You see to me a gift of beer is an opportunity for you to offer him a birthday gift that gives him something that's not easy to get. A real beer experience. An opportunity to try some beers that he would never ever get to try otherwise. That's a birthday gift with a difference.

There are all sorts of small boutique breweries all over the country that brew wonderful beers, just like the one near me. And you'd probably never find them yourself or if you did it isn't easy to buy their products unless you live near one like I do.

So how do you find a great gift of a range of beers from some of our best boutique breweries?

From the beer of the month club. They offer a membership that makes a point of finding the best beers and sending them to their members. It makes a wonderful birthday, or Christmas gift. A unique birthday gift for dads for example, who are often very hard to buy for.

The beer of the month club has a range of beer experts on hand. Their job is to find these breweries and pick out the best of their products to send to the club members every month. (I'd love that job, maybe I should apply!)

So every month, if you give him a membership, he gets 12 bottles of hard to find hand crafted boutique beers from award winning breweries and a newsletter explaining what he's got and giving him all sorts of beer information. Shipping is free.

You can even add a special gift message to him from you.

There are options of different of lengths of time, so you can start him out with 3 months and see how it goes. I know there are some women who renew his subscription every year as his yearly birthday present because he loves it so much. So you've got your birthday present for him sorted out for a long time.

It's a great birthday gift of beer and to me is the best way to give him some great beer as a gift. It's way better than just going out and buying some.

I've talked about gift of the month clubs before, in relation to birthday gifts. I think a good gift of the month club is one of the best gifts for a man who is interested in beer, wine, coffee, chocolate, cookies or any one of dozens of consumables. There are lots of gift of the month clubs to choose from so you can find one for just about any man.

How about a lobster gift of the month club! See what I mean?

So check out Amazing Clubs, they have some great clubs for some great birthday gift ideas for him.